Gluten-free Cornbread

This gluten-free cornbread is sweet, soft, and can also be made as muffins! With a dairy-free and vegan option. Don’t need it to be gluten-free? It works great with all-purpose and whole wheat flours. Scroll down to the bottom for a how-to recipe video.

Before we get to the recipe – a little update! Please meet the latest member of the Texanerin Baking team. :) His name is Björn and he loves to cuddle!

And now for the recipe. For me, Thanksgiving isn’t complete without cornbread. Give me some turkey breast, cornbread, and some dessert and I’m good. And if there’s sweet potato mac and cheese on the table, that’s a nice bonus.

When it comes to cornbread, I’m all about sweet. I like my cornbread to basically be like cake. This recipe uses 1/3 cornmeal and 2/3 cup flour so this isn’t super corny. For me, it’s the perfect ratio!

This gluten-free cornbread is soft and fluffy right out of the oven. But it’s also great at room temperature! After it’s sat for a while, it becomes a little denser. But it’s a nice dense!

If you don’t like your cornbread sweet, this recipe isn’t for you. You unfortunately can’t just omit 1/2 cup of sugar from a recipe and expect it to work. If only things were that easy. ;)

Even with all that sugar, I don’t think this cornbread is very sweet. So you don’t have to worry that there won’t be space for more sugary sweets, like my pecan pie bars, vegan pumpkin pie or Swedish apple pie (all of which can be made gluten-free!).

You can also make this gluten-free cornbread recipe as muffins!

If you’re worried about picky non-gluten-free family members not liking this cornbread, don’t worry. It’s every bit as delicious as the version with gluten! I know because I’ve tried it. They definitely won’t be able to tell a difference!

Perhaps you’re looking for dairy-free or vegan cornbread and don’t care about gluten. If you don’t need this cornbread to be gluten-free, you can use all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour. I definitely don’t recommend regular whole wheat flour unless you want a whole grain-y taste! Even with white whole wheat, you’ll still be able to taste the whole wheat.

And if you don’t care about it being dairy-free, you can use 1 cup + 2 teaspoons of buttermilk in place of the homemade dairy-free buttermilk!

Substitution questions:

I don’t have lemon juice or vinegar to make the homemade buttermilk option – can I just use buttermilk powder? I’ve never actually used buttermilk powder so I really have no idea. I’m assuming it’d work, though!

What about just plain milk? I’m not sure. By leaving out the buttermilk, you’re omitting the acidity. That could have an effect on the baking soda and I’m not sure how you’d need to adjust the baking soda, if at all. I think it’d work, but I’m really not sure. If you try it out, let us know!

I don’t have the recommended 1-to-1 GF baking flour. Can I use XYZ brand? Since I haven’t tried it, I can’t guarantee it. You should have good results as long as it’s meant as a 1-to-1 sub for all-purpose flour!

Can I make this cornbread recipe grain-free with coconut flour, almond flour, etc.? Nope. Sorry! Those flours are absolutely not interchangeable with the GF baking flour recommended. Try this paleo cornbread instead.

Can I sub something for the cornmeal?
Not that I’m aware of. Cornmeal is pretty unique! Plus, I have no idea why you’d want to make cornbread without cornmeal. ;) If it’s because you’re allergic to corn, check out the recipe linked to above.

Can I sub something for or omit the sugar? I think coconut sugar wouldn’t taste very good in this cornbread. Subbing honey or maple syrup wouldn’t work unless you reduce the liquids a bit (and I have no idea by how much so I’m not going to guess). You can’t just omit all the sugar but you could reduce it a little if you want.

Can I add a can of corn? I think if you drain it really well, you should be fine. Haven’t tried it, though, so I can’t guarantee it.

Can this be doubled for a 9×13? I’m sure it could but I have absolutely no idea of the baking time. You’ll just have to experiment. :)

Click below to view the how-to video for this vegan and gluten-free cornbread! Or click here to view the video on Facebook. Thanks! :)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners or line an 8" x 8" pan with a piece of parchment paper.

Pour the milk in a large mixing bowl, add the apple cider vinegar, and give it a few stirs. Let sit for 5 minutes. This is to create homemade dairy-free buttermilk. It's okay if it curdles and it's also okay if it doesn't curdle.

To the milk mixture, add the melted and still warm coconut oil, sugar, room temperature egg (or flax egg), and vanilla and stir until well combined.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients. Add the dry mixture to the wet and stir just until combined.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake muffins for 12-16 minutes and bread for 20-25 minutes. The edges should be very lightly browned and the top should feel firm. The toothpick test doesn't really work well with this bread. I recommend using a small fork to dig in to the center just a bit to make sure it's fully done.

Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Let the bread cool completely in the pan.